Thousands of Indonesian survivors of the Asian tsunami have joined a prayer ceremony to mark 100 days since the disaster that left more than 220,000 in the country dead or missing.
More than 5,000 people gathered for Muslim prayers and Koran readings at a mosque in Ulee Lheue today. The seaside residential area on the outskirts of Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province, was almost totally washed away by the December 26th waves.
Officials said thousands more were expected at the mosque at the ocean's edge in the province, where about 500,000 people lost their homes and many now stay in makeshift camps.
The head of the committee organising the event told Reuters 25,000 invitations had been sent out. "With this ceremony, we pray for those who died in the tsunami and we pray for the living to have strength," he said.
Daily aftershocks have rattled the region on Sumatra island, and on March 28th another massive earthquake struck.
Although there was no tsunami this time, the 8.7 magnitude quake devastated a string of islands off Sumatra's west coast and is believed to have killed as many as 2,000 people, according to officials.